Ethernet VPN
Contenido
1. Ethernet VPN Overview
The Colt Ethernet Services portfolio of services enables customers to interconnect their Ethernet local area network (LAN) so that they can operate various company sites as a single office, reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Ethernet is the de facto industry standard protocol within the LAN, and Colt Ethernet Services enable customers to extend Ethernet into metropolitan and wide area networks (MANs and WANs).
Colt Ethernet VPN (E-VPN) provides any-to-any connectivity at the Ethernet layer. This means that any office can communicate with any other office on the network over a logical any-to-any topology.
The E-VPN service is a Layer 2 VPN service with switching functionality implemented in the Colt network. This allows any Ethernet frame entering the network at one site to be switched and delivered to any other site, offering:
- Any-to-any switched services
- Speeds from 2Mbps through to 40Gbps
- Un servicio dedicated a un solo cliente
- Cobertura metropolitana, nacional e internacional con acceso fuera de la red
The service is a delivered over a star topology, which means that all sites are allowed to
communicate to each other without the requirement of additional switching or routing equipment. The service uses native Ethernet technology, ensuring guaranteed levels of performance. All interfaces are fully transparent to Layer 2 protocols (802.1Q, VLANs, spanning-tree, etc.). Each network has a resilient switching point that will be installed in a Colt node.
The Colt Long Distance Network (LDN) links Colt’s own fibre-optic Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) in 51 cities across 34 countries and 230 city POPs. Colt’s ability to provide end-to-end connections over its own infrastructure ensures, that we can offer customers a high quality, cost- effective solution, backed by comprehensive Service Level Agreement (SLAs) and award-winning customer support.
2. Benefits
Colt Ethernet VPN (E-VPN) provides many benefits.
2.1 Connectivity
Because E-VPN is a Layer 2 private network offering any-to-any connectivity, customers are free to configure their network in the way that suits the specific needs of their organisation. This means that they can decide how to set up and run their network, and making changes could not be easier or more straightforward. Each office can communicate with any other office over a logical star topology, and because it’s a switched service, any Ethernet frame that enters the network at one site can be delivered to its destination in an instant.
2.2 Cost effective solution
Total Cost of Ownership of a WAN can be reduced by up to 30% when compared with other networking options. This is because less equipment is needed and connections are normally cheaper than leased lines and other connectivity technologies. In addition, customers are able to use the same internal expertise they already have managing their LANs in the WAN..
2.3 Transparency
E-VPN uses native Ethernet technology, and all interfaces are fully transparent to Layer 2 Ethernet protocols. That means customers can run their own VLAN, broadcast and multicast domains across the infrastructure to suit specific requirements. And, of course, it doesn’t matter if sites are primarily Metro, National or International, an E-VPN forges them into a single entity.
2.4 Flexibility
E-VPN delivers total flexibility through the ability to change bandwidths to sites and to add new sites to an existing E-VPN whenever and wherever they are required. Colt ensures that customers can increase their bandwidth in much smaller increments than other options can provide. This enhanced granularity means customers can go from 2Mbps to 40Gbps in small, logical steps and pay only for what they need. Bandwidth is guaranteed to each and every site, and Colt offers Class of Service (CoS) allowing customers to prioritise application traffic and thereby manage their use of bandwidth to ensure business efficiency.
2.5 Quality and Service
Resilience, security and performance are vital issues, and because Ethernet is delivered over dedicated circuits, customers can be sure of all three. Resilience is provided with options for enhanced redundancy. Colt’s track record in ensuring that customer networks are consistently robust is one of the reasons that we have won so many awards for customer service over the years. Ethernet services are covered by an end-to-end Service Level Agreement (SLA) with compensation to back up targets for delivery, availability and time to repair.
2.6 Market recognition
Colt has developed an unmatched pan-European Ethernet portfolio, frequently praised by market analysts and widely recognised as the industry benchmark. Colt is a member of the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF), a global industry alliance that aims to accelerate the worldwide adoption of carrier class Ethernet networks and services. The Colt Ethernet portfolio is certified to the latest MEF Carrier Ethernet standard – Carrier Ethernet 2.0 (CE2.0).
Colt ha ganado numerosos premios del sector, entre ellos:
- Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards - Innovación en infraestructura de red fija con Cyan para una red habilitada para SDN (2014).
- Leading Lights Winner - Servicio Ethernet / Óptico más innovador para una red habilitada para SDN (2014)
- Global Carrier Awards - DC Net aprovechando SDN y NFV para el creciente mercado asiático de DC (2015).
- Premios Telco Cloud Forum - Mejor proyecto Telco Cloud SDN/NFV para DCNet On Demand (2016).
- Global Carrier Awards - Mejor despliegue SDN/NFV para On Demand (2016)
- Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards - Innovación en infraestructuras para AT&T PoC (2016)
- Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards - Innovación en servicios empresariales para SD WAN con Versa (2016)
- Premios Leading Lights - Estrategia de despliegue de SD-WAN más innovadora (2017)
- Premios Layer 123 Network Transformation - Mejor servicio SD WAN y Mejor nueva solución óptica en la nube para DCA On-Demand (2017).
- Global Carrier Awards – Best SDN/NFV Deployment for On Demand and SD WAN (2017)
- Global Carrier Awards - Mejor proyecto asiático para Colt IQ Network (arquitectura óptica y Ethernet) (2017)
- Global Telecoms Awards - Servicio en la nube más innovador para DCA On-Demand (2017)
- MetroEthernet Forum Excellence Awards for the EMEA Region over a 13 year period (the last ones displayed below)
2010 Service Provider of the Year, Best Business Ethernet Service
2011 Service Provider of the Year, Best Business Ethernet Service
2012 Service Provider of the Year, Best Marketing, Best Carrier Ethernet Business Application x 2
2013 Service Provider of the Year, Best Carrier Ethernet Business Application, Best Wholesale Service
2014 Best Service of the Year, Retail Service Provider of the Year, Wholesale Service
2015 Provider of the Year, Best Application x 2, Best Network Technology Wholesale Service Provider of the Year, Retail Service Provider of the Year, Network Innovation, Enterprise Application x 2
2016 Wholesale Service Provider of the Year, Retail Service Provider of the Year, Service Innovation, Best Marketing, Enterprise Application x 2
2017 Wholesale Service Provider of the Year, Retail Service Provider of the Year, Network & Service Innovation, Lifecycle Service Orchestration of the Year, Best Marketing, Enterprise Application x 2
2018 Wholesale Service Provider of the Year, Retail Service Provider of the Year, Network & Service Innovation, Enterprise Application x 2
2019 Wholesale Service Provider of the Year, Retail Service Provider of the Year, Network & Service Innovation, Enterprise Application and Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) leadership.
3. Colt Network Coverage
Colt’s secure and reliable network provides unrivalled reach across 34 countries with fibre-based metropolitan area networks (MANs) in 51 major cities. More than 1100 Data Centres and >31,000 buildings are directly connected to the Colt network.
3.1 Europe
Colt’s long-distance pan-European transmission network spans over 49,000km of fibre-optic infrastructure laid in protective ducts that are wholly owned and managed by Colt. Services are provided in 27 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
3.2 Asia Pacific Region
Colt has significant presence in the Asia region and is able to deliver Ethernet services across Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia on its own network footprint. The service can be extended through the use of partner networks in the Region.
Also Colt has recently expanded its network in Australia, connecting 4 Datacenters in Sydney.
3.3 Middle-East
Colt ha ampliado recientemente su plataforma IQNet en Dubai (Emiratos Árabes Unidos), una de las ciudades más atractivas de la región para las empresas. Podemos prestar servicios Ethernet en dos centros de datos on-net en Dubai para nuestros clientes. Se puede llegar a otros sitios con nuestros socios OLO.
3.4 North America
Colt has also extended its network to the USA and Canada as part of its Global Expansion programme. Colt now connects 30 Data Centres in key city locations such as New York, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Los Angeles, Seattle and Toronto. Again, the service can be extended through the use of extensive partner networks in the Region.
3.5 Unrivalled global coverage
As an integral part of its global network expansion programme Colt also continually upgrades its sub-sea cable infrastructure by adding new international 100G submarine cables to seamlessly interconnect three continents. With multiple cable systems and different landing points, Colt is able to provide diverse network paths to offer even more resilient solutions to its customers. By combining Colt’s own extensive network to On-Net sites with partner connectivity for Off-Net sites, Ethernet offers unrivalled global coverage across the world. This means that customers can use Ethernet to connect their sites in a single seamless solution which is both easy to manage and cost-effective. Colt has established External Network-Network Interconnects (E-NNI) with more than 150 partners world-wide.
4. Service Description
4.1 Topology
4.1.1 Any to Any Connectivity
Ethernet VPN provides multi-site connectivity to customers. E-VPN is compliant to the MEF E-LAN definition of a multipoint to multipoint Ethernet Virtual Connection (EVC) service. The service can be configured as an Ethernet Private LAN (EP-LAN) or Ethernet Virtual Private LAN (EVP-LAN) service. The physical architecture is a star topology providing any-to-any logical communication as shown in the following figure.

Figure 1: E-VPN logical topography
The Colt network acts as a single logical switch with physical switching taking place at all core network devices. This fully distributed switching ensures that the latency of all site to site traffic is optimised and that customer applications run efficiently.

Figure 2: E-VPN switching topology
Multiple EP-LAN services can be configured on a single customer interface (multiplexed Ethernet UNI) with the individual services segregated by VLAN. This service option is called EVP-LAN.
4.2 Network access
Colt dispone de una amplia range de opciones para conectar las sedes del cliente a los servicios de Colt. Sea cual sea el tipo de método de acceso utilizado, la solución será creada y gestionada por Colt en virtud de un único acuerdo de nivel de servicio de extremo a extremo.

Figure 3: Network access technologies
4.2.1 Colt access types
Colt’s global network connects fibre-based metropolitan area networks (MANs) in 51 major cities across 34 countries. More than 31,000 buildings are directly connected to this network. Customer sites can be directly connected to this network using the following access types:
4.2.1.1 Fibre
Offices located in buildings that are directly connected to the Colt network will be connected via Colt’s own fibre-optic infrastructure. Colt’s Metropolitan fibre networks deliver high capacity, high speed bandwidth services to Europe’s major business centres, which in turn are interconnected via the Colt fibre-optic network (LDN) delivering high quality reliable services door to door.
4.2.1.2 Fibre ULL
Colt utiliza el bucle local desagregado (ULL) de fibra para proporcionar conexiones de alta velocidad a las instalaciones de los clientes utilizando tecnología de fibra de terceros desplegada por varios operadores en Europa y Asia-Pacífico. Colt despliega sus propios equipos terminating en las instalaciones de los clientes.
4.2.2 Partner access types
For sites not directly connected to the Colt network, Colt E-VPN can be provided using a mixture of Colt and third-party other licensed operator (OLO) infrastructure and services. Colt interconnects with and manages more than 150 partners in order to connect sites that are outside the reach of the Colt network in Europe or in other global locations.
Colt will order a circuit or circuits from the OLO on the customer’s behalf, and customers will still be dealing directly with Colt at all times. Colt also takes responsibility for testing the interface between our network and the OLO’s circuit to ensure that the customer’s overall E-VPN service operates seamlessly.
Las sedes de los clientes pueden conectarse a través de redes asociadas utilizando los siguientes tipos de acceso:
4.2.2.1 Ethernet tails
Both protected and unprotected Ethernet circuits can be used to extend Colt’s network to customer sites. Partner services are technically validated for compliance with key Ethernet technology
standards and Colt’s own product specification.
Integration is achieved using both simple cross-connected point-to-point services and External NNI (E-NNI) connections. E-NNIs offer many advantages in terms of manageability, cost and deployment. Colt adheres to MEF standards and has >400 E-NNIs established globally.
Colt uses Ethernet demarcation devices to provide sophisticated standards-based Operations Administration and Maintenance (OAM) end-to-end.
4.3 Bandwidth Options
The Ethernet VPN service is able to support bandwidths on a per site basis as listed in the following table
Table 1: Ethernet VPN bandwidth options
2 Mbps | 100 Mbps | 1 Gbps* |
4 Mbps | 200 Mbps | 2 Gbps |
6 Mbps | 300 Mbps | 3 Gbps |
8 Mbps | 400 Mbps | 4 Gbps |
10 Mbps | 500 Mbps | 5 Gbps |
20 Mbps | 600 Mbps | 6 Gbps |
30 Mbps | 10 Gbps*** | |
40 Mbps | 20 Gbps*** | |
50 Mbps | 30 Gbps*** | |
60 Mbps | 40 Gbps*** |
*:max bandwidth for international circuits between Dubai and other regions.
**:max bandwidth for national circuits in North America and international circuits between North-America/Europe/Asia/Australia
***:bandwidth available only for intra-Europe circuits and intra-Japan, Singapore and Hong-Kong circuits between specific datacenters (Key DCs).
There is no constraint on the mixture of site bandwidths that can be provisioned for a given E-VPN
5. Features
Ethernet VPN features include
- Clase de servicio (CoS)
- Agregación de Link (LAG)
5.1 Class of Service (CoS)
Class of Service is available for E-VPN Metro, National and International services. Colt’s CoS feature provides customers with a means to differentiate the importance of application traffic and to allocate an explicit prioritisation. Five levels of prioritisation can be defined:
- Premium – Has the highest priority in case of congestion
- Business 1 – Has the second highest priority in case of congestio
- Business 2 – Has the third highest priority in case of congestion
- Business 3 – Has the fourth highest priority in case of congestion
- Standard – Has the lowest priority in case of congestion
A Committed Information Rate (CIR) is associated to each class and the lower classes can also use any available bandwidth from the higher classes when it is available. (Hierarchical CoS). The CIR allocation per class is shown in the table below
Class | CIR (Committed Information Rate) |
---|---|
Premium | 15% |
Business 1 | 15% |
Business 2 | 20% |
Business 1 | 20% |
Estándar | 30% |
Customers are responsible for setting up their traffic prioritisation rules. Colt’s CoS classification can be based on one of the following options:
- IP DSCP
- 802.1p marking
CoS is available for on-net sites, sites connected using Fibre ULL technology and also for off-net sites connected over OLO Ethernet tails where Colt’s Ethernet demarcation device has been deployed.
5.2 Link Aggregation
Link Aggregation (LAG) provides port/interface resilience on the customer’s CPE. This resilience is achieved through the configuration of redundancy on two physical interfaces – one interface acts as the backup for the other. If the ‘active’ interface should fail, LAG automatically directs all service traffic to the second, ‘backup’ interface. LAG is based on Link Aggregation Standard (IEEE 802.3ad) and is supported on 1GbE and 10GbE interfaces.
6. Performance Reporting
Los informes de rendimiento del servicio están disponibles como una función "incluida" para los servicios Ethernet de Colt . Se ofrece a través de Colt Analytics, una herramienta de generación de informes que permite a los clientes ver el rendimiento de sus servicios Colt Ethernet prácticamente en "tiempo real" y que ofrece las siguientes funciones:
- Posibilidad de consultar las características generales del servicio
- Disponibilidad del servicio, utilización del ancho de banda de los circuitos, utilización de los puertos
- Detailed Reports on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)-
- Retardo de Round Trip (RTD), Jitter, pérdida de tramas
- Periodo de notificación seleccionable por el cliente, incluidos los datos históricos (hasta 1 año)
- Posibilidad de descargar informes - CSV y PDF
- Soporte para todas las topologías Ethernet - Ethernet Line, Ethernet H&S, E-VPN, Private Ethernet
Customers can access the reporting tool via the Colt Online web portal. The service data is stored for a period of 1 year allowing historical reporting and trend analysis to be performed.
Online Performance Reporting is a standard feature for Ethernet services delivered on the Colt IQNet platform and for Off-Net services where a Colt demarcation device is installed at the customer’s premises.
7. Resilience & Diversity
7.1 Resilience
Colt Ethernet VPN access service are available with the following resilience options:
- Unprotected – Ethernet VPN services are available with unprotected access. A single fibre extends from the Colt node to the customer premises where the customer interface is delivered. In this case, the Colt core network remains protected with primary and failover paths.
- Protected – The Ethernet VPN services are available as ‘end-to-end’ protected by fibre pair failover combined with the inherent protection mechanism of the core Colt network. Still, a single customer interface is delivered in the customer premises. There is no guarantee that the fibre pair used on the access will be diverse: some SPOF may be present.
Table 2 : Resilience option service availability (indicative values for Europe)
Nivel de Resilience | Availability (at end of measurement period) |
---|---|
Sin protección | 99.9% |
Protegido | 99.95% |
7.2 Diversity
The Diversity feature is used with two standard services to request delivery of the pair of services in a diverse relationship from one another. The purpose of this option is to provide the maximum diversity on every elements of the access part that compose the communication chain between the A-end and the B-end of a circuit.
When the Diversity option is ordered for on-net buildings, Colt will deliver the following in the access part of the circuit :
- 2 x NTE in the customer premise, each with a single interface.
- 2 diverse fibre path between the customer premise and the Colt POP. The fibre path is guaranteed to have no SPOF (note: there may be a SPOF close to the customer building if a single entry is used).
- 2 separate access devices (entry points to the Colt backbone network – AR on the diagram below) either located in the same Colt POP or in two different POPs (majority of cases).

Figure 4 : Standard Diversity (A-end view only)
In the case where two diverse services are deployed to a given site then an enhanced ‘combination’ SLA is possible giving an overall site availability of 99.999%. Details of this option are available in the SLA document.
In all cases the Colt core network is fully protected with primary and failover paths supported for each service.
8. Security
The physical security of our buildings is tightly controlled and access is strictly limited to authorised personnel only. All areas within Colt buildings are secured by means of an electronic access control system to ensure that access is controlled. All people must hold an appropriate pass card while on Colt premises. Non-Colt personnel are not allowed on Colt premises without specific authorisation and prior arrangement. Guests must be vouched for by a Colt host or verified by security in buildings.
In addition, Colt complies with the applicable data legislation.
8.1 E-VPN Security
Colt E-VPN services are separated at the transport layer using dedicated circuit paths and therefore it is impossible for one customer to intercept or send data to or from another customer’s sites via their own access. Colt’s E-VPN services are delivered utilising a network resource that is reserved for that service and for each individual customer.
9. Service Delivery
9.1 Demarcation point
The service demarcation point for Colt services is the customer interface at the Colt access equipment. Colt will normally present its Ethernet services on an industry compliant patch panel within a Colt cabinet, but may also present this within a customer cabinet or designated building ‘Meet Me Room’ (MMR)/Common Equipment Area (CEA). The precise customer site deployment will normally be determined by a site survey during the service delivery phase and will be influenced by the technical deployment rules of Colt or its partners, the cabling architecture within the customer building and the customer’s equipment area. The deployment may typically include an Ethernet NTE, patch panel and power conditioning equipment.
If customers require in-house cabling from the Colt cabinet to their equipment, this will be a chargeable service.
If Colt installs cabling on the customers’ behalf, the demarcation point remains the same: the base of the Colt cabinet. Colt is not responsible for fault-finding on the in-house cabling.

Figure 5 : Demarcation Point
9.2 New service order
Un nuevo pedido de servicio es la prestación inicial del servicio en las instalaciones del cliente, incluida la configuración inicial de la red según las especificaciones facilitadas en la hoja de pedido.
9.2.1 New E-VPN service order
Lead times for a new E-VPN service are provided in the SLA. These depend upon the location and service options required. These lead times are backed up by compensation payable on a sliding percentage scale in the event of late delivery and this is detailed in the SLA.
9.3 Modifying an existing service
La modificación de un servicio existente consiste en la habilitación o deshabilitación posterior de características, funciones e interfaces del servicio, así como cambios en el servicio tras la instalación inicial, que son conceptos facturables.
9.3.1 Modifying an E-VPN service
Following provision and installation of an E-VPN service, customers can ask Colt to enable additional features, functions and interfaces, and request changes to the service. The implementation of most changes is chargeable, and some changes may mean that revised rental charges apply. Changes fall into two categories: A and B.
- Category A modifications – Regarded as a new provision in terms of lead times. These are change requests that require physical alternations to the equipment that delivers the service. Examples include provisioning CoS functionality or adding bandwidth where there is no capacity, which is regarded as a new provision in terms of lead times
- Modificaciones de categoría B - Requieren un plazo de 10 días laborables. Se trata de cambios de configuración que pueden realizarse a distancia y dentro del horario laboral normal e incluyen lo siguiente:
- Bandwidth downgrade
- Cambiar los parámetros de CoS o añadir Cos a un servicio existente
- Ampliación del ancho de banda (sin trabajo físico)
9.3.2 Out-of-hours changes
Los cambios que deban gestionarse fuera del horario de oficina deben programarse y aprobarse con antelación, y hay un plazo de dos semanas para programarlos. (Esto no se aplica a los cambios de emergencia.) Solicite más información a un ejecutivo de cuentas Colt .
9.3.3 Cessation of service
Cessation of service is within 60 working days from request by the customer. Request for cessation of service may be subject to a charge in accordance with Colt standard terms and conditions. Should the customer cancel their order during installation, Colt reserves the right to raise a charge.
9.4 Fast track installation
Fast Track allows customers to expedite delivery of their order and receive their service on a date specified by the customer (generally prior to the standard lead time), or, if this date is not possible, on the earliest possible date.
Fast Track installation is available for all On-Net sites in all Colt geographic locations. If Fast Track is possible, Colt will provide a Fast Track delivery date based on technical feasibility, which customers can accept or reject. If accepted, the Fast Track option incurs an extra charge in addition to the standard installation fee.
Consult a Colt Account Executive for more information.
10. Service assurance
Colt ofrece un alto nivel de garantía de servicio:
- La red central se supervisa de forma proactiva
- A local language help desk is available 24 x 7
- Colt Online proporciona un portal web que permite a los clientes consultar facturas y avisos de problemas.
10.1 Customer service
Colt has a high quality fibre network that enables the provision of an annual target service availability. The target availability depends on the service taken and the location of customer sites. The fault help desk is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Customers can report a fault at any time by contacting the Customer Service Centre and speaking to a representative in their local language.
When service is provisioned, customers are issued with a unique service reference for each circuit that they should always use when reporting faults. The contact number for fault reporting is specified in the handover pack.
10.2 Colt Online
Colt Online is an intuitive, user-friendly application enabling new and existing Colt customers to interact with Colt via a secure Internet connection without the need to speak to a Customer Service Agent or Account Executive.
Every Colt Online customer is provided with an administrator account for a defined user within their organisation. This administrator has full access to the available features for all their customer accounts and sub accounts, including:
- Buscar y consultar cualquier factura de los seis meses anteriores en formato .pdf (no disponible en Suiza debido a la legislación sobre protección de datos)
- Ver el estado de cualquier pedido en el proceso de entrega
- Ver el estado de cualquier ticket (averías, consultas, solicitudes de servicio) en tiempo real
- Buscar y ver todos los servicios en directo
- Ver un panel de control de la cuenta, que resume las cuatro características anteriores
10.3 Service Monitoring
Colt supervisa y mantiene de forma proactiva la red de Colt .
10.3.1 Automated Monitoring and Notification
The Ethernet VPN service includes an optional proactive notification service, which means that Colt proactively monitors the service and can notify customers of any service-affecting faults via e- mail or SMS. Proactive Fault Notification is a customer selectable service feature.
10.4 Planned Maintenance
When planned works are required, the customer will normally be notified in advance as per the following timelines:
- Five working days – Non-Service-Affecting planned works and standard planned work (routine maintenance)
- 15 to 17 days – Service-Affecting planned works
Typically, planned works occur after 20:00 GMT on weekdays. For emergency changes, Colt endeavours to give four working days’ notice; however, on some occasions, this is not viable and the work will be done in much shorter timescales with supporting justification and reasons
11. Colt CPE Solutions
By combining Ethernet VPN with Colt CPE Solutions further service features may be added such as Layer 3 routing functionality.
12. Commercials
12.1 Billing
La factura del cliente está disponible en papel o en CD-ROM y contiene información detallada:
- Gastos de instalación del servicio
- Gastos de alquiler de servicios
- Otros gastos y créditos
- Descuentos, si procede
Customers are provided with a single freephone point of contact for all service enquiries including billing enquiries. For detailed billing enquiries, customers can be transferred to a specialised billing department.
Charges will be applied per site based on the bandwidth selected and the location of the site. The E-VPN primary site is used as commercial reference point indicating whether subsequent sites are Metro, National or International sites. The other sites that constitute the E-VPN are referred to as E-VPN access sites.
12.2 Installation charges
Los gastos únicos de instalación se facturarán íntegramente en la primera factura que se emita tras la instalación. Normalmente, esto ocurrirá en los 30 días siguientes a la prestación del servicio. Además, cualquier traslado, cambio o modificación conllevará un cargo único.
12.3 Rental charges
Customers can opt to pay monthly, quarterly or annually. Where no option is indicated, monthly billing will be set as default. All rental owed under the service will be payable in advance.
12.4 Additional features
Class of Service, Link Aggregation and Performance Reporting features will attract additional installation and rental charges. The charges for enhanced resilience options are built into the service charges.
13. Technical data
E-VPN is a self-learning technology that performs switching between sites based on destination MAC address. The switching function is distributed throughout Colt’s network. E-VPN supports up to 100 customer sites as standard. Larger networks can be configured via special request.
13.1 Switching
E-VPN is based on a self-learning technology in which packets are automatically switched according to their destination MAC address. The switching is performed on all core devices and as such is fully distributed. This ensures minimum latency between any two E-VPN Access sites.
E-VPN is an any-to-any service. The bandwidth of each site is selected by the customer according to data flows and individual site requirements. Packets will be switched according to the destination MAC address; therefore, there is a process of learning that occurs constantly where MAC addresses and their location on the network is logged. Frames are forwarded to the sites where the destination MAC address is known to reside. Broadcast/Multicast packets and packets with an unknown destination will be treated the same and forwarded to all ports. There is a bandwidth limit placed on the propagation of Broadcast/Multicast packets.
Class of Service is available as a service option. If there is congestion, high priority packets will be expedited until the total of the high priority reservation has been met. Subsequent packets and packets that do not qualify as high priority will be dropped until the over subscription status is removed. It is therefore important that the customer dimensions the link to each site according to its traffic needs.
13.2 Interface options
The interfaces shown in the following table are available at the customer site.
Speed | Presentation/Interface | Connector |
---|---|---|
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 100Mbps | 100/1000 Base-T 1000 Base-SX/LX | RJ45 LC, SC |
200, 300, 400, 500, | 1000 Base-T | RJ45 |
600 Mbps 1Gbps | 1000 Base SX/LX | LC, SC |
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10 Gbps | 10GBase SR/LR/ER | LC, SC |
20, 30, 40 Gbps | 100GBase SR/LR | LC |
Table 3: Ethernet VPN interface options
13.3 Colt Ethernet performance
Levels of jitter, latency and packet loss provide an indication of how the service will perform under normal conditions, and these parameters can vary considerably as traffic profile items such as packet size, CoS and data flow rate fluctuate. Details on the levels guaranteed by Colt are included in the SLA agreement which the customer receives.
14. Performance Objectives
Los objetivos de rendimiento del servicio se incluyen en el Acuerdo de Nivel de Servicio (SLA).
14.1 Service Availability
Service availability is defined in full in the SLA, which is a separate document and includes details of the rebates if the targets are not met.
14.2 Fault Handling
Faults can be reported via the local telephone numbers as described in the handover pack, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The period when the service was not available will be measured from the time such condition is reported by the customer and a trouble ticket is opened by Colt to the point when Colt resolves the trouble ticket and informs the customer that the service is available. The customer shall be deemed to have been informed of service availability if Colt has unsuccessfully tried to contact the customer.
Fault handling is defined in full in the Service Level Agreement (SLA).
15. Colt Professional Services
Colt Professional Services is a team of highly focused experts dedicated to designing and managing solutions which support business transformation for our customers. Our consultants are available to:
- Revisión exhaustiva de las necesidades de comunicación actuales y futuras del cliente.
- Design proyectos complejos con arreglo a normas estrictas
- Gestionar la ejecución de proyectos
- Garantizar que el servicio se presta de acuerdo con las expectativas del cliente
Colt has expertise in four areas: Project Management, Service Delivery, Consulting Services and Design Services. For full details of the services available, please contact a Colt Account Executive.
16. Certifications and industry standards
Colt dedicated a garantizar que nuestros sistemas de gestión cumplen las normas ampliamente aceptadas de la Organización Internacional de Normalización (ISO) y del Instituto Británico de Normalización (BSI). Colt cuenta con las siguientes certificaciones:
- ISO 14001 - Norma internacionalmente aceptada que establece un marco de elementos esenciales para implantar un Sistema de Gestión Medioambiental (SGMA) eficaz. La norma está diseñada para abordar el delicado equilibrio entre el mantenimiento de la rentabilidad y la reducción del impacto medioambiental. Este certificado es válido para todos los países en los que Colt y nos ayuda a identificar los impactos que nuestras operaciones tienen sobre el medio ambiente y a planificar cómo reduciremos los más significativos. También garantiza que cumplimos todas las normativas medioambientales de cada país en el que operamos.
- ISO 9001: el marco de calidad más consolidado del mundo que establece la norma no sólo para los sistemas de gestión de calidad, sino para los sistemas de gestión en general. Colt cuenta con esta certificación para la prestación de servicios de gestión de todos los servicios de datos, voz y red de Colt , además de la gestión de la red principal, la red troncal, los conmutadores, los enrutadores, la infraestructura y los sistemas asociados Colt .
- ISO/IEC 27001 - La única norma internacional auditable que define los requisitos de un Sistema de Gestión de la Seguridad de la Información (SGSI). La norma está diseñada para garantizar que se ha establecido la selección de controles de seguridad adecuados y proporcionados, y también especifica formalmente un sistema de gestión de la seguridad de la información (SGSI) que tiene por objeto someter la seguridad de la información a un control de gestión explícito. Colt posee esta certificación para nuestras soluciones de servicio gestionado por el cliente (CMS) de centros de datos europeos. Esto incluye la supervisión de la red europea del cliente, la gestión y los servicios de Soporte . En Colt India, esto incluye facturación, servicios de ingresos y el Centro de Servicios Financieros Compartidos (FSSC). En Colt España, esto incluye los servicios de colocación en ubicaciones que no sean centros de datos.
17. Colt Online
Search and view any bill from the previous six months in .pdf format*
*Not available in Switzerland due to data protection legislation.

Figure 6: Find Bills
Ver el estado de cualquier pedido en el proceso de entrega

Figure 7: Order Details
Ver el estado de cualquier ticket (averías, consultas, solicitudes de servicio) en tiempo real

Figure 8: Ticket Status
Buscar y ver todos los servicios en directo

Figure 9: Service Details
Ver un panel de control de la cuenta, que resume las cuatro características anteriores
18. Service Delivery Timeframes
18.1 Retail Buildings

Figure 10: SD timeframes in retail buildings (working days)
Colt proporciona diferentes plazos de entrega objetivo en función del servicio a prestar. Estos valores son indicativos y el diagrama anterior ilustra algunos de ellos. El documento SLA incluye una descripción completa de los plazos de entrega objetivo.
18.2 Data Centres
A number of Colt Data Centres are pre-provisioned and pre-cabled with a supporting process to ensure sufficient capacity is always available to deliver services: these are known as Key Data Centres. Faster lead times are guaranteed in these locations:

Figure 11: SD timeframes in Data Centres (working days)
Colt proporciona varios plazos de entrega objetivo en función del servicio a prestar. Estos valores son indicativos y el diagrama anterior ilustra algunos de ellos. El documento SLA incluye una descripción completa de los plazos de entrega objetivo.
19. Order to Delivery Overview
Colt Contacto | Calendario de actividades |
---|---|
Contacte con | Contact Step 1 Day 1 Order Form completed |
Name Tel No: | Working with a sales contact, an order is raised for the service |
Step 2 Day 2 -3 Order validated The customer order is now validated by Colt and any outstanding issues or questions dealt with. Customers will be sent a letter confirming receipt and acceptance of their order | |
Installation Process | Step 3 Design and build The service is configured along with any optional features that may have been requested. The access circuit will be ordered and customers will be sent a letter confirming the Colt installation date |
Step 4 (a) Access circuit installed A technician is at the customer’s site to complete installation of the access circuit. Please ensure the technician is given access to the customer premises | |
Step 4 (b) Equipment installed Customer equipment is installed by Colt. The access circuit and Internet services are tested | |
Step 5 Activation and porting Service is ready for activation and (if required) numbers are ported. Customers will be given a handover pack which provides details of their service |
Note: This document is not legally binding.